Architectural Walking Tours Now Available at Mattatuck Museum
July 3, 2008

Waterbury, CT: Self-guided, audio walking tours of downtown Waterbury architecture are now available at the Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center. Created by Main Street Waterbury’s Design Committee, each of the 8 tours consists of an MP3 audio guide and map. Tours may be picked up at the museum’s reception desk and borrowed free of charge.

Dating from the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century, Waterbury’s architecture is magnificent, with buildings designed by the country’s foremost architects. These buildings are best seen on foot, and eight tours have been created to guide walkers on distinct architectural adventures each focusing on a specific type of architecture or location. Tours spotlight religious buildings, East Main Street, Exchange Place and Bank Street, the Grand Street Commercial District, Cass Gilbert and the City Beautiful, single family homes, and the Green. See buildings by Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial; McKim, Mead, & White, the foremost architectural firm of the late 19th century; Cass Gilbert, architect of the U.S. Supreme Court building; and Cesar Pelli, a leading architect today. Each tour takes approximately 20 – 40 minutes.

The tours were created by the Main Street Waterbury’s Design Committee and written by art historian Raechel Guest. Narrated by such Waterbury notables as Jay Anthony of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Bryan Kimmelman and Alissa Cordeiro of Shakesperience Productions, Tom Chute of WATR Radio, and Cathy Conti of The Timex Museum, the downtown architecture tours were made possible by a grant from the Connecticut Community Foundation.